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A dark and light green graphic with the words 'Bryophyte Club - Help create a new artwork for Frenchay campus!' and three illustrations of mosses on a squiggly background.

Bryophyte Club, Juneau Projects 2022. Courtesy of Juneau Projects. All rights reserved.

‘Look in a certain way and a whole new world can be revealed’

– Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

Across 2022-24 Arnolfini and UWE Bristol produced a public art project with artists Juneau Projects (Philip Duckworth and Ben Sadler), taking place in and around the university’s Frenchay campus.

Phil and Ben invited UWE Bristol students and staff, local residents and schools to join them for Bryophyte* Club, a programme of free creative workshops, events and explorations of local nature, inspired by mosses, lichens and other overlooked but vital plants.

These activities led towards the design and creation of a series of bronze sculptures based on enlarged organic bryophyte forms; several clay brick seating structures inspired by pillow moss, and a wildlife wall for insects, birds and plants to inhabit.

This artwork, titled Tiny Wilderness, is installed in a garden area of the Purdown View student accommodation village on the campus, also open as a community space for people living and working in the area. The artworks and their surroundings will become a place for students, staff and local residents alike to sit, rest, meet and enjoy for years to come.

Click here to view the Project Archive

* bryophytes (brai·uh·fites) are a group of plants that include mosses, lichens, liverworts and hornworts. In the UK there are around 1100 species of bryophyte.

Bryophytes are ancient resilient plants that grow everywhere on our planet. Able to withstand extreme climates, they are one of the organisms most capable of adapting to climate change.

From their aquatic origins, these soft organisms now carpet the surfaces of damp woodlands, lava fields and city streets across the globe. This project is a celebration and exploration of this often overlooked, yet fascinating organism.

Read more about bryophytes, courtesy of the British Bryological Society, by clicking here.

This is a joint project between Arnolfini and UWE Bristol.

THE FINAL DESIGNS

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Bryophyte Club creative workshops and contributed their thoughts and ideas for the new public artwork. We’re excited to share a preview of some of the clay and wax moulds for the public art sculptures with you. These will be installed in March 2024, and we will share final photographs of the artworks soon!

HOW DID WE SELECT THE ARTISTS?

Juneau Projects were among four artists commissioned to develop a proposal for the project. The decision was made by a panel made up of representatives from Arnolfini, UWE Bristol, the student community and local schools. On the panel were: Rania Regaieg, UWE Bristol Students’ Union President; Sarah Laws, Deputy Headteacher, Glenfrome Primary School, Eastville (close to the Frenchay campus); William Liew, Chief Financial Officer, UWE Bristol; Marianne Reed, Head of Business Change (Place), UWE Bristol; Vivienne Jowett, Head of Accommodation Services, UWE Bristol; Gary Topp, Executive Director, Arnolfini; and, Alix Rothnie, Projects Producer, Arnolfini.

Sarah Laws, Deputy Head at Glenfrome Primary School said: “I was honoured to be invited to join the panel. Juneau Projects’ sculptures are inclusive and inspiring and will be perfect to enrich the campus environment and local area. Juneau Projects value community involvement, therefore it’s an exciting time for us at Glenfrome Primary School as we await the collaboration opportunities for our children.

“I know that our children will not only relish the chance to be creative, they will be excited and proud of what they personally achieve but also feel as though they have contributed to the awe and wonder that the sculptures will bring! This is a fantastic opportunity for us and we cannot wait for the project to begin.”

William Liew, UWE Bristol’s Chief Financial Officer, added: “This is an exciting public art project which we hope will provide a long-term benefit to the local community, by creatively connecting Frenchay Campus to those who live and work nearby, as well as providing a positive impact for future students who will make the new student accommodation their home in years to come.”


About the Artist

A photograph of artist duo Juneau Projects, Phil and Ben, standing smiling in a disused swimming pool.

Juneau Projects

Juneau Projects was formed by Phil Duckworth and Ben Sadler in 2001. They specialise in collaborative public artworks, developed with and for the communities that will interact with them on…

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